A spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group condemned on Wednesday the presence of Arab delegations at the 12th Annual Herzliya Conference in Israel.
“This is a new level in political normalization and this conference specifically has cultural dimensions which are embodied in the humiliating participation of some Arab and Palestinian political figures in this conference,” Marwan Abdul Al complained.
"What would the role of Arab delegations be? To offer advice? Or to reassure Israel that it is safe during the current Arabic revolutions?” Abdul Al asked sarcastically.
“How could an Arabic country like Qatar, which is at the forefront of the Arab Monitoring Committee of the Arab League, participate in such a conference without any deterrent or impediment or conviction against Israel?"
The conferences are convened by IDC Herzliya’s Institute for Policy and Strategy, which provides policy recommendations to organizations working in the Middle East.
This year's conference was entitled "In The Eye of Storms: Israel & the Middle East."
In addition to delegations from PA affiliated organizations, academics and diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar have also participated in this year’s conference.
Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan gave Tuesday's keynote address.
His underlying thesis was that famine and water shortage are the keys to unrest in the Middle East, and that all nations in the region must work together to develop agriculture and water supplies to feed their people.
Israel and Jordan have both benefited from joint agriculture and water development programs since making peace in 1994.